A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action, Please

A college friend of mine, Carl, is a second year teacher at a high school in Eastern Iowa.  Over the past couple years we've had several conversations about the state of arts and general education.  We have come to the conclusion the potential is there, but nothing is being done.  Carl recently wrote a blog entry about the continuous conversation about the need for education reform in the State of Iowa and how often the blame of poor performing students is placed upon the shoulders of the educators.  Carl goes on to outline the top four obstacles teachers face: quality professional development, the evolution of academic priority, parents and public misconceptions.  As a young, enthusiastic educator trying to make a difference in the lives of his students, Carl has shed a new light of these issues.

I wholeheartedly agree with Carl's assessment and can only  hope and pray my tax dollars are being spent effectively to positively reform Iowa's education system.  For too long people have been complaining about the current system and giving suggestions as to make it better.  However, that doesn't do anyone any good until we actually DO something about it.  What does knowing the test teach us?  Absolutely nothing beyond the fact that our students have the capability to be mindless drones that can regurgitate force-fed facts.  What happened to education being about the experience?  Why are good grades a given, something a student deserves, rather than an award?  The grade inflation rate is outrageous!  Shouldn't what a student learned be more important than the overall grade earned in a class.  In my personal academic career, spanning from high school to graduate school, I have taken many classes where I received an A for my final grade and felt like I didn't learn anything.  However, on the flip-side, I've taken classes where I worked very hard to earn a B. Those B's are so much more important to be because I was challenged and felt I actually learned something.

Why does the whole of the fault of poor academic performance of students have to be placed on the shoulders of teachers?  As Carl points out in his post, parents are a major influence on the performances of their children.  This extends far beyond the academic arena.  When parents are supportive and involved in the lives of their children, they perform better.  They become contributing members of society.  Why? Because their parents were a good example.  If parents took the time to be a part of the lives of their children and teach them positive social values and good work ethic, perhaps our educators will be more successful in their teaching.  It is not fair to expect our grossly overworked and underpaid educators to be parents by proxy AND teach our children algebraic equations.  This is a challenge to all parents out there:  ask your child what he or she learned in school today, ask if they helped anyone, ask if they met anyone new.  Engage with your child.  Please do not expect television to raise your children.  Trust me, the Kardashians are far from the best example your children need.  Please inspire your child to aspire to be more than a contestant on the Bachelor in 2020.  Try to keep your kids in school and positively reinforce their good behavior.  At the least tell them you love them.  Seriously, all these daddy issues are guaranteeing us an army of strippers for generations to come.

I realize there are plenty of teachers out there who are in the field because it's a safer bet - benefits are good, guaranteed retirement. But there are so many more teachers who actually care.  Why not install some sort of reward system based on student evaluations within middle and high schools.  If nothing else, it's another way to get students to write.  I understand these students can't vote yet, but they do have opinions.  Maybe this is idealist in me, but I think allowing students to actively shape their education would empower them to take ownership of it.  Sometimes all it takes is to ask a student what they think to get them involved.  Plus the evaluations may help teachers who aren't effectively reaching their students to adapt their methods.

I understand that education reform is going to take a lot more money, time and effort than we really want to put it.  However, we must remember the age old adage, "You reap what you sow."  We need to invest in our future today.  Start small.  Parents pay attention to your children; encourage them to do their best and learn something.  Please, teach your children manners and positive social behaviors.  Teachers, keep up the good work.  Administrators, pay communicate with your teachers and with the parents in your district.  State Legislators, don't aim for perfection, aim for what is realistic. Small, measurable and achievable goals are a good idea.  Don't set yourselves up for failure.  It doesn't make you look good.  Community members, please act like you're in a community; take an interest in the schools and the education of your future community leaders.  We want to cultivate a flourishing garden of educated global citizens, but that takes time, effort, and money.  Please invest.

You know you're in the Midwest when...

Today I was sitting in the waiting area at the hospital today, reading a business book for a class next quarter and a lady I'd never seen before started asking me about my studies.  So I told her about this arts admin master's degree I'm working towards and what my life ambitions are and so on.  She was so tickled that "a girl from Carroll, Iowa, was going places."  She was so thrilled she told me she'd pray for me.  I thought that was pretty sweet.  Five years ago, that would have upset me, praying for me like I cared.  However, 23 year old me is way more tolerant and a lot less angry than 18 year old me.  The older I become the more I have been able to appreciate being raised in a small farming community.  Here's a list of reasons I appreciate Carroll:

1. It only takes me 10 minutes with traffic to get from one end of town to the other.
2. Cost of living is so cheap
3. Great Mexican food -- I haven't been able to find decent Mexican in the 'Nati.
4. My family is here.
5. People are always saying hello and smiling.  People are friendly here.
6. Familiarity.  I feel a certain sense of comfort when I come home because I know things are pretty much the exact same as how I left them.  The same 7 old dudes walk laps in the pool at the Rec every night, and the same farmers get coffee at MC's Cafe in the morning, and the same group of little old ladies go to 6:30am Mass everyday.  I like the routine.

Please don't think that I'm planning to move back home after I graduate in June.  That will happen under no circumstances!  There are no jobs for me and I would go insane.  I've also complied a list of things I don't like about Carroll:

1. There is nothing to do here.  We have a movie theatre, a recreation center, and a bowling alley.  We're hopping.
2. People drive so slow here.  It's ridiculous.
3. Everything is fried.  That's fine and dandy when it's Fair time in August, but it's totally unnecessary for the remaining 50 weeks of the year.
4. In that same vein, French fries are a vegetable here.
5. I cannot find good coffee here.
6. The amount of snow we get each winter is insane!  Both my parents were without power for nearly a week last winter!

Neither of these are exhaustive lists, but they're a good representation of my feelings for my  hometown.  I hope all of my collegiate followers are surviving their time at home this holiday season.

Stay tuned, and happy holidays!

-Caro